Electrical & Computer Engineering News

WiNC Lab in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at San Diego State University is thrilled to announce that Mr. Hamed Mojtahed, our Engineering Ph.D. student in the SDSU-UCSD Joint Doctoral Program (JDP), has received the Best Paper Award at the IEEE ECBIOS 2024 conference. Hamed's paper, titled "A Deep Learning Approach for Heart Rate Variability Error Correction," introduces a novel method to enhance the accuracy of heart rate variability (HRV) measurements, a critical indicator of cardiovascular health and autonomic nervous system function.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)’s ExpandAI program last week awarded San Diego State University a $2.8 million, four-year grant to enhance the existing artificial intelligence infrastructure, education and research capacity and prepare students for careers in AI.

San Diego State University College of Engineering seniors are prepared to envision, design, and build a better world. During the 2024 Senior Design Day, held May 1 at Viejas Arena, senior design teams presented innovative engineering projects to upwards of 2,300 attendees. In the intensive, two-semester Senior Design Course, students collaborate as an engineering team to identify and solve real-world problems, from conception to implementation. With support from sponsors, mentors, advisors, and faculty, the students put their technical knowledge, communication, and collaborative skills into practice. The students showcased various projects from growing plants on the moon and designing non-invasive health monitoring sensors to developing power line wrapping technology to prevent wildfires.

Eighteen years ago, San Diego State University alumna and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Mahasweta Sarkar was hired as the first tenured female faculty member in her department. Today, she also serves as senior associate dean of Global Campus and on several committees across campus. Born and raised in India, Sarkar was surrounded by strong role models, including her father and aunt who are both civil engineers. This sparked her desire to also become a professional in the STEM field. However, during the 90’s it was not as common as it is today for women to pursue an undergraduate degree in a foreign country. Still, Sarkar has excelled in numerous ways, becoming a leader in her field and an inspiration to other aspiring engineers.

“I remember attending this STEM festival in the Petco Park stadium when I was younger and it aided in the career path I choose today. I encourage the SD community to attend the STEM festival to connect with fellow San Diegans and to allow them to find a passion they did not know they had,” said Bernice Gudino, President of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and bioengineering student.

Congratulations to Dr. Junfei Xie (assistant professor, SDSU), Baoqian Wang (co-advisor, PhD student, SDSU), Ramiz Hanan, David Pierce Walker-Howell, and Leo Peralta (undergraduate students, SDSU) for winning the award in the student design competition at the 2020 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM 2020). The competition is targeted for undergraduate students.

Under a $1.5 million federal grant, San Diego State University researchers are developing ways to protect the current power system from the effects of natural disasters and cyberattacks that leave people and utility companies vulnerable to data breaches and widespread blackouts. Their work aims to help utilities withstand events that carry the threat of pervasive power outages at a time when energy systems need to be redesigned to accommodate the growing use of renewable energy sources. Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Tong Huang and Distinguished Professor Chris Mi received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) ASCENT (Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams) program to further their research.

Tong Huang, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), received the IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) Technical Committee Prize Paper Award for his high-impact journal paper.

Q&A with engineer Saeed Manshadi, whose team uses artificial intelligence to calculate fire risk and help utilities decide when to shut off power.

Alumnus Joe Kiani ('84, '88) is making a difference in patient safety through his medical technology company's noninvasive patient monitoring devices.